Meta Launches New Protection Tools as It Helps Disrupt Scam Centers

"Meta announced a major operation conducted in collaboration with law enforcement to disrupt scam centers targeting its users. The operation involved the FBI, the DOJ Scam Center Strike Force, and police in Thailand, and targeted scam centers in Southeast Asia. According to the social media giant, the scam centers targeted users in the US, UK, and the APAC region."

"Thai Police arrested 21 suspects and Meta shut down more than 150,000 accounts leveraged by the scam centers. In addition to directly targeting these scam centers, Meta said it removed more than 159 million fraudulent ads in 2025."

"Meta also announced several new anti-scam tools on Wednesday. One of them warns WhatsApp users of potentially malicious device-linking attempts, which scammers leverage to trick users into linking the attacker's device to the victim's account. The company also unveiled a feature designed to protect Facebook users by alerting them to suspicious friend requests."

"The company says it has been using AI to detect scams impersonating brands, celebrities, and public figures, as well as deceptive links and fake domains."

Meta conducted a major operation with the FBI, DOJ Scam Center Strike Force, and Thai police to disrupt scam centers in Southeast Asia targeting users across the US, UK, and APAC regions. Thai authorities arrested 21 suspects while Meta shut down over 150,000 accounts used by these scam operations. The company removed 159 million fraudulent ads throughout 2025. Meta introduced new anti-scam tools including WhatsApp device-linking warnings, Facebook suspicious friend request alerts triggered by indicators like missing mutual connections and location mismatches, and an advanced Messenger detection system. The company employs AI technology to identify scams impersonating brands, celebrities, and public figures, along with deceptive links and fraudulent domains.

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